Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

During the Jintian Uprising, Yang Xiuqing was the Eastern King of the Taiping Army, second only to the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan.

Furthermore, in the power distribution at that time, he had the right to control the other kings.

It can be said that within the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he was truly second only to the emperor.

Especially after the deaths of the Western King Xiao Chaogui and the Southern King Feng Yunshan, and the death of the Yu King Hu Yihuang, only the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan, the Eastern King Yang Xiuqing, the Northern King Wei Changhui, and the Yan King Qin Rigang remained of the original eight kings.

Among them, Wei Changhui, the Northern King, was also Yang Xiuqing's subordinate.

After establishing his capital in Tianjing, Hong Xiuquan seemed to have become a completely different person, indulging in pleasure all day long and neglecting state affairs.

On the contrary, Yang Xiuqing took the opportunity to take over all affairs of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Under his rule, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom flourished, reaching its zenith in both civil administration and military achievements.

This further convinced Yang Xiuqing that he was the greatest contributor to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He believed that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's current situation was entirely due to his efforts.

Therefore, his ambitions began to swell uncontrollably.

Their desire to replace Hong Xiuquan was almost blatantly obvious.

"Your Highness, let's act as soon as possible! If we delay any longer, things might change! The Qing demons might very well make a comeback," Yang Fuqing said.

As Yang Xiuqing's younger brother, he naturally hoped that Yang Xiuqing could successfully replace Hong Xiuquan.

At that time, relying on this relationship, he could take the opportunity to be crowned a king.

Yang Xiuqing shook his head: "I want to be the Heavenly King, but I hope even more that Hong Xiuquan can voluntarily abdicate. Only in this way can the power of the entire Heavenly Kingdom be transferred smoothly, without any turmoil, and without giving the Qing devils an opportunity to take advantage."

Whether the Qing demons will make a comeback is not important.

If we can defeat the Qing demons once, we can defeat them a second time, and even a third time.

Until the Qing demon is completely defeated!

The continuous military victories had made Yang Xiuqing arrogant, and he no longer took the Tartars seriously.

"Let's wait a little longer. The Heavenly King just bestowed upon me the title of 'Long Live the King,' so we can't push him too hard. Besides, by using this 'Heavenly Father's Descent to Earth' to punish the Heavenly King, I have further established my authority."

Then I'll ask the "Heavenly Father" to descend to earth and force Hong Xiuquan to abdicate in my favor!

Yang Xiuqing clearly already had a complete plan.

Seeing this, the trusted men of the Eastern Prince's Mansion had no choice but to say nothing more.

However, Yang Xiuqing was unaware that some of his trusted confidants already had other ideas.

Chen Chengrong, the Prime Minister of the Heavenly Kingdom, held the title of Marquis Zuotian, seemingly only one step away from the throne.

Yang Xiuqing, in particular, became increasingly arrogant, treating even his trusted confidants like lackeys. This greatly displeased Chen Chengrong.

He considered himself to be second only to Prince Yu, Hu Yihuang, in the entire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Based on his many years of merit, it's time for him to be crowned a king.

However, there was still no definite news from Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King. Yang Xiuqing, the Eastern King, also kept making excuses. This left Chen Chengrong feeling very uneasy.

Time passed little by little, just when Yang Xiuqing believed that she had completely taken control of the situation and the overall trend.

Just when Hong Xiuquan was about to be forced to abdicate, Chen Chengrong, whom he regarded as a confidant, delivered a fatal blow to him.

In July 1856, Chen Chengrong secretly went to the Heavenly King's Palace and reported to the Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan that Yang Xiuqing was plotting a rebellion.

"Your Majesty, the Eastern King is ambitious and wants to seize power. For some time now, the Eastern King has believed that the Heavenly Kingdom's current prosperity is entirely due to his efforts. He thinks that the Heavenly King is no longer suitable to lead the Heavenly Kingdom."

In an attempt to undermine the Heavenly King's authority, the Eastern King went so far as to feign the descent of the Heavenly Father to punish the Heavenly King with a cane.

Furthermore, the Eastern King plans to soon use the pretext of the "Heavenly Father's descent to earth" to force the Heavenly King to abdicate!

This time, Chen Chengrong has completely betrayed Yang Xiuqing.

Hong Xiuquan turned pale after hearing these words.

I don't know if it was from being frightened or from overworking, but my body is getting weaker and weaker.

After all, the Heavenly King's Palace had eighty-seven queens. Even if Hong Xiuquan was made of iron, he couldn't handle it!

"Your Majesty, the Eastern King even wants to get rid of the Young Heavenly King! In particular, the Eastern King's confidant Hou Qianfang is strongly advocating for the elimination of the Young Heavenly King to prevent future troubles!" Chen Chengrong added fuel to the fire.

Hong Xiuquan's anger was successfully ignited.

Although Hong Xiuquan now had several sons, his eldest son, Hong Tianguifu, remained his most beloved and was regarded by him as the heir to the Heavenly Kingdom.

Yang Xiuqing actually wanted to get rid of his son, which was something Hong Xiuquan absolutely could not accept.

This can be said to have touched a raw nerve with him.

"How could it have come to this! Back then, during the Jintian Uprising, we all agreed to overthrow the Tartars and free the people from their oppression. We were to share both joy and sorrow, and prosperity and ruin. But how has the Eastern King become like this now!" Hong Xiuquan was furious, as if he had been utterly betrayed.

"Your Majesty, this clearly shows that the Eastern King's ambition is growing ever larger. Your Majesty has treated the Eastern King well, and can be said to have trusted him immensely. You have entrusted him with all the affairs of state. As a result, the Eastern King has claimed all the credit for himself. This is clearly a case of betraying your principles for personal gain!"

Your Majesty must prepare early! Otherwise, if the Eastern King becomes impatient, not only will Your Majesty be in danger, but the Young Heavenly King will also be in danger!

Chen Chengrong appeared utterly loyal.

Hong Xiuquan nodded repeatedly.

Since the Eastern King wanted to usurp the throne, he also wanted to kill his son.

Therefore, no matter what, we must kill the Eastern King.

Power struggles are always extremely brutal.

The losing side will not only be ruined, but their family and subordinates will also suffer the same fate.

"The Eastern King controls the government and most of the army. It won't be easy to overthrow him!" Hong Xiuquan couldn't help but feel a little regretful now.

If he had known earlier that Yang Xiuqing harbored such wolfish ambitions, he shouldn't have started indulging in pleasure so early.

As a result, Yang Xiuqing has now gained considerable power and become too powerful to control.

Even for him, getting rid of Yang Xiuqing wouldn't be so easy.

After learning of Hong Xiuquan's attitude, Chen Chengrong was greatly encouraged and began to actively offer advice and suggestions.

"Your Majesty, although the Eastern King is powerful, in the hearts of all the subjects and soldiers of the Heavenly Kingdom, Your Majesty is the true master of the Heavenly Kingdom. No matter how powerful the Eastern King is, he is still subordinate to Your Majesty."

Moreover, the other kings and generals might not necessarily obey the Eastern King's orders completely.

For example, His Highness the Prince of the North and His Highness the Prince of Yan are both extremely loyal to His Majesty.

His Highness the Wing King has always been at odds with the Eastern King.

"As long as Your Majesty issues an edict, all the princes will surely follow Your Majesty's lead!"

Chen Chengrong suggested.

Hong Xiuquan nodded; he knew this too.

As the Heavenly King, he holds the reins of righteousness.

This is also why Yang Xiuqing, despite pressing him relentlessly, dared not kill him directly.

Otherwise, it would inevitably cause great chaos throughout the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Especially given the looming threat from the Tartars, a serious internal conflict within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would inevitably provide the Tartars with an opportunity to exploit.

In that case, everyone will be doomed.

Hong Xiuquan was also worried about this.

"If we order the kings to come to the aid of the emperor, things will escalate. The entire Heavenly Kingdom will be in turmoil. The Eastern King will not sit idly by and will certainly put up a stubborn resistance. That would severely damage the entire Heavenly Kingdom."

Furthermore, if the Heavenly Kingdom were to split, the Tartars would benefit from it.

"If the Heavenly Kingdom is defeated by the Tartars, none of us will have a good end; our entire families will be exterminated by the Tartars!"

Although Hong Xiuquan wanted to kill Yang Xiuqing, he was not confused. He knew that even if it meant killing Yang Xiuqing, he couldn't let the Tartars gain the upper hand.

Otherwise, everyone would be doomed.

There was nothing that could be done about it. The Tartars were powerful, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was already at a disadvantage, so naturally they couldn't fight amongst themselves.